“You humbled me, you beat me, and the towel came flying in because you were the better man.”

Bellew was quick to remind Haye of some of his comments ahead of their previous fight, and was unconvinced by this apparent change of mindset.

“Am I not the crappest world champion this time?” he said.

“Last time it was all ‘Tony Bellew will be asleep viciously inside two rounds’. Now all of a sudden it’s this humble approach. I don’t understand this flip around.

“I don’t need you to take the bait, you are the same as you were last time. You’ll rip your top off and look fantastic again, and your mindset will never change. You know you can’t stand the sight of me.”